European and American WAIS IV norms: Cross‐national differences in perceptual reasoning, processing speed and working memory subtest scores

Abstract

International comparisons of IQ test norms show differences between nations. In the present study, nonverbal reasoning, processing speed and working memory subtest scores of the US, German, French, Finnish, and Scandinavian (combined Swedish‐Norwegian‐Danish sample) WAIS IV standardization samples were compared. The European samples had higher scores on the reasoning subtests compared to the American sample, corroborating earlier studies. The Finnish and Scandinavian samples had lower processing speed and working memory scores than the American, German, and French samples. Mechanisms that may underlie the observed national IQ profiles include: (1) test‐taking attitudes—in tests that require balancing speed and accuracy of performance Americans may prioritize fast performance while Europeans avoid mistakes; (2) differences between languages in digit articulation times; and (3) educational factors—the European advantage on reasoning subtests may be based on there being better educational systems in Europe as compared to the US.

An examination of factors that may contribute to gender differences in psychomotor processing speed

“…The results concerning personality traits do not explain the male/female gap; rather, they may even make it more difficult to explain, as extraversion and risk taking were shown to be positively correlated with PS and males are slightly more extroverted and less risk avoidant on the PRF scales than are females. However, this observation may be relevant for explaining cross-national differences in PS discussed above [ 13 ] . Nations such as the Scandinavian countries where introverted and cautious behavior is the cultural norm (reflected, for example, in traffic deaths and law enforcement [ 43 , 44 ]) may show a lower Perceptual Reasoning/Processing Speed ratio in standardization samples as compared to nations where more extroverted and courageous behavior is viewed positively (such as the U.S.).…”

“…There are also significant cross-national differences in IQ test profiles. In a recent study [ 13 ] the mean PRI scores for Finnish, Scandinavian, German and French WAIS IV standardization samples varied from 104 to 109 while the PSI scores varied from 96 to 101 when scored using U.S. norms (U.S. mean = 100 for all indexes). Thus, the WAIS factor model involving the four index scores is not perfectly consistent across sex and nationality.…”

“…Differences in PS observed between nations and across gender suggest that there are several factors that affect PS and that these factors may act in different directions. For example, Finnish students have consistently ranked among the top five nations in reading and writing skills in the PISA assessments between 2005 and 2018, while Finnish standardization samples have consistently had significantly lower PS scores on the different versions of the WAIS as compared to U.S. and European standardization samples [ 13 , 26 ]. It has also been found that males perform better than females on some types of speed tests, but females perform better on others.…”

Anxiety severity and cognitive function in primary care patients with anxiety disorder: a cross-sectional study

“…However, a more plausible explanation for our results may involve the normative sample for the design fluency test. The D-KEFS normative sample was composed using the 2000 U.S. Census figures as target values [ 35 ], but cross-national differences in cognitive function exist [ 53 ]. One possible explanation for our results is that Swedish D-KEFS means might be higher than U.S. means.…”

Assessing Black intelligence: National and international perspectives on standardization sample appropriateness

“…Moreover, differences in performance have been documented when using the Wechsler scales across cultures. For instance, it has been documented that individuals from the United Kingdom, Germany, and France perform better on the subtests of Matrix Reasoning, Visual Puzzles, and Block Design than individuals in the United States, even when using U.S. norms (Roivainen, 2019). However, the specific causes for these cross-national test performance differences are still being researched.…”